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DOJ Proposes Breakup of Google Ad Tech to Address Monopoly

The Justice Department has filed a plan for Google to divest its AdX and DFP platforms following a federal ruling on its illegal dominance in ad tech markets.

FILE - A man walks past Google's offices in London's Kings Cross area, on Aug. 10, 2024. (AP Photo/Brian Melley, File)
FILE - A sign is displayed on a Google building at their campus in Mountain View, Calif., on Sept. 24, 2019. (AP Photo/Jeff Chiu, File)
The Google logo is seen on the Google house at CES 2024, an annual consumer electronics trade show, in Las Vegas, Nevada, U.S. January 10, 2024. REUTERS/Steve Marcus/File Photo
Alphabet Inc. and Google CEO Sundar Pichai speaks during the inauguration of a Google Artificial Intelligence (AI) hub in Paris on February 15, 2024.

Overview

  • The DOJ's remedy plan includes divestiture of Google's AdX ad exchange and DoubleClick for Publishers (DFP) ad server to restore competition in digital advertising.
  • The proposal also seeks a 10-year ban on Google operating an ad exchange and requires opening AdX real-time bidding data to competitors.
  • Google has rejected the divestiture plan, arguing it exceeds the court's findings, is legally unfounded, and would harm publishers and advertisers.
  • Google has countered with behavioral remedies, including increased transparency in ad auctions and commitments to avoid certain anti-competitive practices.
  • The court will consider the DOJ's and Google's proposals in a remedies trial set to begin on September 22, 2025, with broader implications for Big Tech regulation.